Health And Fitness Herald Today: Dreena Burton on Tips for Vegan Parents – Part 1

Dreena Burton on Tips for Vegan Parents – Part 1 – Hosting A Vegan Birthday Party
Your weegans are growing, and you are receiving invites to birthday parties and starting to plan your own real-deal birthday celebrations. Exciting, right? Or... nerve-wracking?! If you are vegan and navigating these waters for the first time, it can be more stressful than fun. Many insecurities and doubts creep up, like: “What do I tell the host?” “It’s easier to just decline... oh, the guilt!” “What if my child eats cheese at the party?”

photo courtesy of Dreena Burton

Your weegans are growing, and you are receiving invites to birthday parties and starting to plan your own real-deal birthday celebrations. Exciting, right? Or… nerve-wracking?! If you are vegan and navigating these waters for the first time, it can be more stressful than fun. Many insecurities and doubts creep up, like:

“What do I tell the host?”

“It’s easier to just decline… oh, the guilt!”

“What if my child eats cheese at the party?”

“Do I tell the other parents our party food is vegan?”

“Will the other kids eat our food?”

“I can’t do this!”

Yes you can. And, we are going to tackle all of those questions in two posts. Part 1 will cover hosting your own birthday party when your child is vegan. Part 2 will help you with sending your vegan kiddo out to a non-vegan party.

First, let me give you some reassurance. I am the mother of three “weegans”, ages 12, 8, and 4. My husband and I have been vegan for almost 20 years. One thing I’ve learned in over a decade of parenting: It’s not the vegan part of parenting that’s difficult, it’s the parenting part – period!

Simple as that. Ok, not quite that simple. But, the pre-conceived worries I had surrounding our vegan lifestyle before having children (and before they were in social situations) were far worse than reality. We sometimes work these situations up in our mind into complicated balls of chicken-nuggets-meet-cheese strings-washed-down-with-milkshakes. We fret about how things will play out, what people will think, if friends will be accepting, and more. So, I’m here to tell you that in most circumstances (most!), things work out far better than you might have ever imagined.

Let’s get this party started!

Throwing A Vegan Birthday Party

photo courtesy of Dreena Burton

Invitations: First, let’s rephrase this. Your not throwing a vegan party, you are throwing a birthday party for your kiddo. Unless you are part of a tight-knit vegan parenting group that has monthly parties to celebrate your veganism (nice idea, but not realistic), your party is a birthday party. Don’t throw the vegan word out there, because most parents don’t fully understand it. For little kiddos, birthday parties have themes like dinosaurs, fairies, and magic or are tied to activities like swimming and skating. They aren’t usually highlighting the food. Occasionally, but rarely. So, pick a theme and run with it. You don’t even need to inform the guests that the food is vegan. Why would you? Everyone eats some vegan food, we just eat all vegan food! Invite the kids, don’t set up any unnecessary pre-conceived notions about what our food might or might not taste like. Serve the food, they will love it.

Vegan Party Platter – photo courtesy of Dreena Burton

Keep The Food Simple: We are parenting the food allergy generation. When I was a wee one, my mother never heard of nut, egg, or dairy allergies. In fact, PB & J sandwiches were a mainstay at parties (and in school lunches). Now, we are hyper-alert, and as parents hosting birthday parties, we need to be aware of any allergies. If a child has a serious allergy, be assured, that parent will tell YOU. But, it’s always a good idea to check with parents about any allergies, especially to nuts. If you can serve nut products, it gives you a little more flexibility in food choices as a vegan host. If you cannot, the food options are still pretty simple. Simple? How So?!

Well, after having dozens of birthday parties myself, and after sending our girls to dozens of parties, I figured out that there are two food groups for parties – pizza and hot dogs. So, if you are hosting a party, and you want the kids to be happy, choose one of those two and make them vegan! Yeah, there are a few other foods that kids enjoy at parties like veggie sushi and – wait, I can’t think of the second. That’s because it’s always pizza and hot dogs! I have tried serving other foods. I have also watched other kids cry at parties because they aren’t having pizza or hot dogs. Not worth it! Hot dogs are probably the easiest because the veggie dogs are so similar to meat-based hot dogs. Pick up some vegan hot dog buns and ketchup – you’re set. Or, if you can order vegan pizzas, do so - you’ll have enough to juggle with a party. Otherwise, pick up some pizza shells, tomato sauce and Daiya and make a few cheese pizzas. You can play around with other toppings if you want to do a more customized “pizza party”, but most kids just want cheese pizza – keep it simple.

For dessert, you can’t go wrong with chocolate cake or ice cream cake. I still rely on one of my very first cake recipes, my “Triple Layer Chocolate Cream Cake” from my first cookbook, The Everyday Vegan. I now keep it simpler and make it a double-layer cake, but it’s a family favorite – correction, it’s a crowd favorite! Plus, all nut-free. Though, our girls have since become very fond of this Pumpkin Cake With Fluffy Mallowy Frosting, so that is in regular birthday rotation too. The other option is ice-cream cake! Kids love ice cream cakes and they are simple to make (and you can make them many days in advance)! Yep, far easier than you think, get some tips here. Other foods to serve? Of course some cut fruit and veggies (in my experience most of the veggies go wasted so better to focus more on the fresh fruit), potato chips, popcorn, and/or pretzels, and cookies. What’s a party without cookies? I highly recommend these Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies. (They don’t have 200+K YouTube views for nothing!)

Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies by Dreena Burton

Whole foods mama note: Our girls eat a predominately whole-foods diet, with beans and grains and veg and fruit – all that food goodness. But when it comes to birthday parties, I check my whole-foods hat at the party door. Kids want party food at parties. You might be able to slip in some whole-wheat hot dog buns (I have, and the kids are fine with them). And, you might even get spelt flour in that birthday cake (I do, I’m sneaky). But even with those little measures, your kids are going to be eating far more sugar and processed foods than you’d normally give them, whether at home or at another party. It’s ok. It’s a party. It’s not everyday. They will eat the chips and cookies and frosting off the cupcakes – and go for more. Let it go, it’s one meal of one day. Then have a cookie or three yourself.

Smaller Parties and Sleepovers: If you are having just one or two friends over for a sleepover or smaller party, especially for older children, they may enjoy a few different food options. Ask your child what their friend likes to eat – have them ask their friend! They may enjoy foods like sushi, beans, sweet potatoes, and tofu. You can get a little more creative and offer some fun foods. Our girls love “Tamari Roasted Chickpeas”. I make triple batches every week and pack them in their lunches. They always tell me their friends want to share them at school. So, for a recent play date I offered up some of these chickpeas with an assortment of fruit and muffins. For a sleepover, we picked up some veggie sushi and I paired it with marinated tofu and home fries. Breakfasts for sleepovers can be fun because you can whip up pancakes or French Toast! But, if you don’t have the time or patience for that food prep, pick up some vegan waffles, slather with a little almond butter, top with fruit and drizzle on pure maple syrup – you’ll be a star with the kids!

Are you a vegan parent hosting your first birthday party? Or, maybe you’ve hosted quite a few parties for your vegan children. Either way, please share your thoughts, feedback, and ideas for others! And feel free to browse through the recipes on my site – remember, cookies will always win ‘em over!

Dreena Burton is the author of four bestselling vegan cookbooks and a newly released “Plant-Powered 15” ebook. You can connect with her on facebook, twitter, pinterest, and her online kitchen!

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